Identification and partial characterization of two species-specific repeat families in the great millet (Sorghum vulgare,Poaceae) genome

The 1.4 kbp Xba I and the 1.3 kbp EcoRI repeat families in great millet were partially characterized with respect to their genomic distribution and their homology with the EcoRI and Xba I families of five other millet DNAs. The digestions of great millet DNA using increasing amounts of the two enzymes show that these two families are disperse in nature. The hybridization of these two families to the genomic digests of great millet indicates that they are arranged in a clustered and scrambled manner. Similarly, the hybridization with the EcoRI and Xba I digests of five other millet DNAs reveals the speciesspecific nature of these two repeat families. The latter also hybridize to the total repetitive fraction of great millet isolated at a highly stringent temperature of 75°C suggesting that the members of these two families are probably largely homogeneous.